CCI - THE BUSINESS OF ART: ENTREPRENEURIAL TRAINING FOR ARTISTS

September 11 - November 13, 2024

The Business of Art is a QUICK GRANT eligible activity for California artists who apply by July 15, 2024. 
Be sure to register for the workshop in addition to applying for the grant. More info below!

Join us for CCI's final Business of Art: Entrepreneurial Training Series!

If you are an artist, you have an arts business. Get the entrepreneurial tools and resources you need to sustain and thrive as an artist.

Learn key concepts and strategies for marketing and self-promotion, money management, planning and project financing. Get clear on your core values and who values your work. Assess your strengths and available opportunities. Create structures to meet your goals. Meet peers from across the creative disciplines; share knowledge and build relationships to support you as you grow. 

The Center for Cultural Innovation was founded in 2001 to promote knowledge sharing, networking and financial independence for individuals in the arts. Join us for the final CCI-organized production of our signature program, the Business of Art, which is designed to enhance the business skills of artists and entrepreneurs working across the creative disciplines. Taught by arts business leaders with both commercial and nonprofit experience, the Business of Art curriculum is rooted in the idea that your art business is driven by two elements: your core values and the people who value what you do. Participants learn key concepts involved in goal-setting, business models, marketing and self-promotion, money management, legal issues, strategic planning, and project financing. 

From September 11 to November 13, 2024, 30 artists from a variety disciplines will meet online weekly for online presentations by arts and business leaders who will share innovative ideas and inspiration for sustaining your art business. CCI’s publication Business of Art: An Artist’s Guide to Profitable Self-Employment (3rd Edition, Second Printing) and an online Business of Art Toolkit will supplement the webinars with readings, worksheets, and resources to support you in your career.

In weekly virtual seminars you will hear from experts in the field (many of whom are also practicing artists), exchange ideas and resources with your peers, and apply what you learn to growing your own arts business. In the final session, each artist will present their art business model and celebrate their accomplishment as a cohort.

This 10-week workshop will be conducted online via Zoom Meetings. Presenters will lead live, interactive workshops, and additional peer learning will take place in breakout groups. Most of the sessions will be recorded, however live participation is strongly encouraged. Breakout rooms will not be recorded.

Register early; enrollment is limited and this program will sell out! 

 SCHEDULE:  

This 10-week class meets via Zoom on Wednesdays from 2:00PM - 5:00 PM (Pacific) / 5:00 - 8:00 PM (Eastern).

Session 1: September 11
Presenting Yourself as an Artist 

Session 2: September 18
Identifying Your Values & Setting Goals / JEREMIAH OLAYINKA OJO

Session 3: September 25
Designing Your Business Model & Building a Business Plan / AMY KWESKIN

Session 4: October 2
Promoting Yourself & Your Work / KATRINA FRYE

Session 5: October 9
Legal Issues for Artists / CASEY SUMMAR

Session 6: October 16
Managing Your Money / AMY SMITH

Session 7: October 23
Moving Forward with Strategic Planning / AMY KWESKIN

Session 8: October 30
Funding Your Art Project or Business / ELAINE GROGAN-LUTTRULL

Session 9: November 6
Cluster Counseling / ALL PRESENTERS

Session 10: November 13
Final Presentations & Graduation! 

BUSINESS OF ART PRESENTERS

FALL 2024

Lead Facilitator: Allison Wyper

Allison Wyper is an artist, consultant, web designer, and arts entrepreneur with 20 years of experience providing administrative, marketing, and production support for individuals and organizations. She founded Rhizomatic Arts in 2014 to help creative people work independently, not alone. As Artists Knowledge Manager at the Center for Cultural Innovation from 2017-2023, Allison managed professional development training and communications, including the Business of Art program and CCI's newsletters, websites, and social media. Each year she curated and produced 20-40 workshops for artists in all disciplines and career stages. In total, she facilitated 16 Business of Art workshops, and oversaw publication of the 3rd Edition of the Business of Art workbook. She is currently writing the Business of Art facilitation guide, which will be published in 2024. Learn more about Allison’s current projects at www.rhizomaticarts.com.

JEREMIAH OLAYINKA OJO (Identifying Your Values & Setting Goals) is the Founder and Managing Director of Ilèkùn Wa, an art business advisory firm facilitating & cultivating opportunities for visual artists of African descent to create, sustain and thrive. Over the last decade, Jeremiah has become a sought after arts and culture management consultant, working internationally in artist development, gallery management, and art fair operations. His collaborative work with minority emerging contemporary artists, art institutions, corporations, and collectors has carved a pathway of connectivity for creative professionals throughout Africa & its Diaspora. Jeremiah is also the Founder of Creative Milieu, LLC, a creative professional development enterprise that sources, trains and connects creatives through an integrated online-learning and staffing agency for the Creative Economy.

AMY KWESKIN (Designing Your Business Model & Building a Business Plan; Moving Forward with Strategic Planning) is principal of Artsightful through which she provides consulting and coaching to share insights into the business of art. She specializes in developing inspiring and accomplishable strategic plans for arts organizations by working collaboratively with her clients. Amy uses arts management methodologies she developed through her work as a professor at Golden Gate University, St. Mary’s College, and previously as a full-time faculty member at The Art Institute of California – San Francisco. Her strategic tools are captured in CCI's Business of Art, 3rd Edition publication. Additionally, Amy is the Director of Professional Development at Intersection for the Arts where she designs professional development training programs for artists and arts managers. Amy is pursuing a Doctor of Business Administration at Golden Gate University. She earned her Master's in Arts Administration from Golden Gate University and Bachelors’ degrees in Cinema/Photography and English from Ithaca College. To bring balance into her lifework Amy is also a certified yoga instructor.

KATRINA FRYE (Promoting Yourself & Your Work). Since graduating from Claremont Graduate University with her Masters in Arts Management Katrina Frye has embarked on a new approach to “old traditions” in the arts economy. Launching Mischief Managed in 2013, she experimented with a subscription-style company offering management and marketing support for artists of all mediums. In 2020 Katrina founded indie music label Lauretta Records, where she creates space for underestimated artists and musicians, determined to engage indie artists in a sustainable way. Katrina has led conversations and workshops for the United States of Women, Netflix, ArtCenter, LA County Arts Commission, and Center for Cultural Innovation. She has lectured at CBU Riverside, CSU Long Beach, CalArts, PCC, and more. Katrina is a part-time business consultant, full-time mother, and avid lover of surfing and skating. Katrina is a Business of Art, 3rd Edition, contributing author.

Casey Summar is an attorney and national consultant working with organizations and artists on organizational strategy, planning, and board development. She serves as Of Counsel with the Law Firm for Non-Profits and is an adjunct Professor of Law at Vanderbilt University. Prior to relocating to Southern California, Casey founded the Tennessee Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts in 2005 which grew to become the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville, an arts service organization dedicated to ensuring a thriving arts community, for which she served as Executive Director for over a decade. In that role, she advised the boards and staff of over 400 nonprofits at all stages of organizational lifecycle from formation to operations to transition. Casey was recognized for this work as the 2016 Nonprofit CEO of the Year for Middle Tennessee. Casey serves on the boards of the national Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF+), the Carpinteria Arts Center, and the Lois & Walter Capps Project. Casey received her J.D. with honors from Vanderbilt University Law School and graduated magna cum laude from Belmont University with a B.F.A in Photography. Casey is based in Carpinteria, CA.

AMY SMITH (Managing Your Money) is a dance and theater artist, educator, and facilitator. She works to dismantle oppressive structures in non-profit organizations and other groups so that artists and low income folks can achieve collective liberation. She does this through financial well-being workshops, one-on-one work with clients giving financial advice and doing tax preparation, consulting with arts organizations, co-facilitating anti-racism sessions with co-facilitators of color, and as a dance and theater educator. Amy co-founded, co-directed, and performed with Headlong, a dance theater non-profit that transformed into a community arts organization over 25 years. She left Headlong in 2019 to pursue her freelance work. She leads financial well-being workshops through Creative Capital, Assets for Artists, and in many other settings. She holds a BA from Wesleyan University and has been greatly affected by her learning as part of artEquity’s National Facilitator Training and other anti-oppression trainings. Amy is a Business of Art, 3rd Edition, contributing author. 

ELAINE GROGAN-LUTTRULL, CPA-PFS, AFC® (Funding Your Art Project or Business) is the founder of Minerva Financial Arts, a company devoted to building financial literacy and empowerment in creative individuals and organizations. Her workshops and presentations have been featured nationwide. Elaine teaches at the Columbus College of Art & Design, where she served as the Department Head for Business & Entrepreneurship from 2014-2018. Previously, Elaine served as the Director of Financial Analysis for The Juilliard School and in the Transaction Advisory Services practice of Ernst & Young in New York.Elaine is the author of Arts & Numbers (Agate, B2 2013) and the forthcoming Five Questions (Agate, B2). She is based in Columbus, Ohio where she serves on the boards of the Short North Alliance, Social Ventures, and the Financial Therapy Association. Elaine is a Business of Art, 3rd Edition, contributing author.

Teaching Assistants

Our final Business of Art will feature facilitation support from recent graduates of CCI's Teaching the Business of Art: A Community Knowledge Exchange for Facilitators. 

 Annie Y. Saldaña Matías is an artist, arts administrator, and educator from Puerto Rico. She manages the Creative Community Development Center (CEDE) at Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico. Has participated in multiple professional development programs such as National Leaders of Color Fellowship, Museum’s Association Mentoring for All program, AS220’s Practice//Practice, NALAC’s Leadership Institute, and Fabricas Culturales. Saldaña holds a bachelor’s in graphics arts from University of Puerto Rico and a master's in fine arts with a concentration in Photography from Miami International University of Art and Design.

meghan joy "mojo" o’keefe (they) is the executive director of the amador county arts council and is an interdisciplinary artist and teaching artist since 1999. their work is rooted in authenticity, wildness, and trash—using the arts to forge freedom of expression in rural spaces through song, poetry, sculpture, nature, and energy-body work. o'keefe holds a bachelor's degree in biology from oberlin college (ohio, 2002), is a graduate in performance studies from pacific conservatory of the performing arts (santa maria, california, 1999), and a reiki "master" (2006). o'keefe was awarded the Cali-Catalyst Grant from the Center for Cultural Innovation in 2022 for their actions defending freedom of expression under scrutiny from the Amador County Board of Supervisors. o’keefe grew up in rural sutter creek, california and is a non-binary queer woman with learning disabilities who is a survivor of early childhood sexual violence, misogyny, rape, religious brainwashing, and the gender construct. hobbies: funky fashions and habitat gardening—yay bugs!

 Sola Bamis is an actress, writer, performance artist, and filmmaker committed to high-quality artmaking across media platforms. A SAG Award nominee, she has appeared in several television shows, performed in regional theatre world premieres, and lent her voice talents to video games and radio and television commercials.

She produced and starred in two short films shot in Nigeria, and the script for her next film project Crocodile has won and been placed in screenplay competitions. Her one-woman show The Tutorial, a multi-part solo piece and social media installation, incorporates the magic of transformative storytelling, performance art, and Revolutionary Theater to deliver a vital prescription for blac women’s self-love and expression. Ms. Bamis received her MFA from the California Institute of the Arts.

WATCH NOW: BUSINESS OF ART: PRICING EXCERPT

 TECH REQUIREMENTS: 

We will use Zoom meetings to meet online. Please plan to call in from a location with a strong internet connection, where you are able to share and listen comfortably. You’ll need a laptop or desktop computer with video and headphones. Workshop materials will be shared electronically via Google Drive, however you do not need a Gmail account to view those files.

TIME REQUIREMENTS:

Weekly homework assignments will be given, including reading chapters from the workbook and completing worksheets. We recommend allocating at least 1-2 hours each week for homework (depending on your reading speed). Homework will not be graded, but we have found that artists who commit time to working on their art businesses tend to benefit most from the workshop experience.

We highly encourage artists to meet up (virtually or in-person) to work on exercises together between classes. Given how isolated many artists are in their daily practice, we find that using the "buddy system" can help with confidence, motivation, and accountability.

COST: 

$250 early bird registration (ends Sept 1); then $300 thereafter.

Payment plans can be arranged. Please email jennelyn@cciarts.org with any questions.

Register Here

This program is sold out. To be added to the waitlist, contact Jennelyn Bailon at jennelyn@cciarts.org 

Please Note: This program will sell out, so we encourage you to register as early as possible. Tickets will be made available for purchase on June 30th.

QUICK GRANTS & BUSINESS OF ART: WHAT TO KNOW 

(UPDATED JUNE 20, 2024)

California-based artists may be eligible for a Quick Grant to cover Business of Art tuition. 

• The Quick Grant program awards funds up to $600 for professional development activities that build administrative capacity, hone business skills, and strengthen the financial sustainability of the grantee’s practice, area of cultural production, or arts organization. See Quick Grant guidelines, FAQ, and application portal here.

• Quick Grant applications are processed on a monthly cycle and are due on the 15th of every month with a one-month turnaround. In order to qualify for this Business of Art workshop, you must apply for the Quick Grant no later than July 15, 2024. You will be notified of your award status by August 15, 2024.

• If awarded funding, it is your responsibility to register for the Business of Art. CCI is unable to register grantees for their approved activity/ies.

IF YOU PRE-REGISTER FOR THE BUSINESS OF ART AND ARE NOT AWARDED A GRANT: You have until September 10, 2024, to cancel and request a tuition refund.

IF YOU ARE AWARDED A GRANT BUT DO NOT REGISTER BEFORE THE WORKSHOP SELLS OUT: You may request to have your awarded funds transferred to another eligible professional development activity.

Questions about the Quick Grant program? Email quickgrant@cciarts.org.

Cancellation Policy: Full refund on registration fees up to 48 hours prior to first workshop date. Fees nonrefundable after that date.

Photography Policy: Center for Cultural Innovation takes photos and videos at our activities for non-commercial, archival, and promotional purposes. By attending this workshop series, you are acknowledging that your likeness may appear on our website, social media platforms, ephemera and publications, and/or archives. If you have any objections, please let us know, and thank you.

PARTICIPANT TESTIMONIALS

"Business of Art has been one of the most crucial experiences I've encountered in my career as an emerging artist. I feel inspired, with renewed vigor, a deeper well of confidence, and an excitement to keep mining my depths!"

"It was so valuable to discuss my personal experiences in my art business and discover commonalities between myself and other artists in the workshop!"

"I learned to narrow my focus toward tangible goals that will support a more sustainable practice. Throughout the program, I felt uplifted and supported by Allison, the fellow participants, and the guest teachers. It was validating to work with peers on problems and issues that resonated with all of us, knowing that we are not alone on this adventure toward creating our artistic dreams, even in the midst of the pandemic. While the experience was virtual and participants from many different areas in California, there was a true sense of community and solidarity. I needed that."

"I no longer feel like my career is a thing that’s just going to happen to me.
My career is a thing that I control." 

UNABLE TO TAKE THIS WORKSHOP?

Build your entrepreneurial skills with the Business of Art workbook! 

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